The purpose of this study was to investigate consumer’s perceptions on brand-storytelling executed in Irish food and drink industry advertisements. This aim of this study was to investigate the perception of consumers from Dublin, Ireland. The researcher conducted four focus groups as part of this study. The focus group discussions allowed the researcher to determine an in-depth knowledge about the opinions and perception of the participants. The data was collected and analyzed using thematic analysis. The results of this research show that Irish food and drink industry advertisements executed using story-telling may create brand-loyalty, purchase intention and a positive consumer perception. The study also shows that Irish consumers connect better with the Irish food and drink brand stories compared to other participants. To consult more MBA essays, please see at: Bộ Luận Văn Thạc Sĩ Quản Trị Kinh Doanh MBA
1 Brand Storytelling used by the Irish Food and Drink Industry Advertisements Dissertation submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of M.Sc Marketing Dublin Business School Unaiza Shabbir 10375504 Supervisor: Alan Morgan Word Count: 18,502 January 7th, 2019 Declaration I, Unaiza Shabbir, declare that this research is my original work and that it has never been presented to any institution or university for the award of Degree or Diploma In addition, I have referenced correctly all literature and sources used in this work and this work is fully compliant with the Dublin Business School’s academic honesty policy Signed: Unaiza Shabbir Date: 6th January 2019 Acknowledgement I would like to express my appreciation and acknowledgement for a number of people who made this dissertation possible I would like to thank my supervisor Alan Morgan for his constant support and guidance throughout this dissertation I would like to offer a special thanks to all the participants who took part in my focus group, your input was greatly appreciated Last but not the least I’d like to thank my parents, my partner Hannah and my friends who have been my rock throughout the course of the degree Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate consumer’s perceptions on brand-storytelling executed in Irish food and drink industry advertisements This aim of this study was to investigate the perception of consumers from Dublin, Ireland The researcher conducted four focus groups as part of this study The focus group discussions allowed the researcher to determine an in-depth knowledge about the opinions and perception of the participants The data was collected and analyzed using thematic analysis The results of this research show that Irish food and drink industry advertisements executed using story-telling may create brand-loyalty, purchase intention and a positive consumer perception The study also shows that Irish consumers connect better with the Irish food and drink brand stories compared to other participants Table of Content List of tables and figures Introduction 1.1 Background of the research 1.2 Irish Food and Drink Industry 1.3 Context for the research 1.4 Research question and objectives 1.5 Dissertation Road-map 1.6 Limitations Literature Review 2.1 Brand Storytelling 2.2 Brand 2.3 Brand Image 2.4 Brand Knowledge 2.4.1 Brand Awareness 2.5 Brand Personality 2.6 Consumer Neuroscience 2.6.1 Brand Preferences 2.6.2 Cortical Relief 2.6.3 System1, System2 2.7 Brand Loyalty Research Methodology 3.1 Research Methodology Introduction 3.2 Research Design 3.2.1 Research Philosophy 3.2.2 Research Approach 3.2.3 Research Strategy 3.2.4 Exploratory Research 3.2.5 Research Choice 3.3 Research Time Horizon 3.4 Population and Sampling 3.5 Data Collection 3.5.1 Secondary Data Collection 3.5.2 Primary Data Collection 3.6 Focus Group 3.6.1 Planning the Focus Group 3.6.2 Conduction the Focus Group 3.6.3 Issues in Focus Group 3.6.4 Reporting the Focus Group Data 3.7 Research Ethics 3.8 Limitations to the research Data Analysis 4.1 Introduction 8 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 14 14 17 18 18 19 21 21 23 24 25 25 26 26 28 29 30 32 33 33 35 36 37 37 39 41 44 45 46 46 47 47 4.2 Objectives Loyalty, Perceptions and Purchase intention 4.3 Guinness Advert – ‘Behind every great horse’ 4.4 DairyGold – ‘What would you in an extra minute?’ 4.5 Jamesons – ‘Scully was to blame’ Conclusion and Recommendations 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Objective – Consumer Brand Perception 5.3 Objective – Generate greater purchase intentions 5.4 Objective – Favourable change in consumer’s brand loyalty 5.5 Consumer Nostalgia 5.6 Sensory Marketing 5.7 Brand Relatability 5.8 Recommendations 5.9 Limitations and Suggestions for further research Self-Reflection on learning style 6.1 Learning Styles 6.2 Master of Science Marketing Degree References Appendix 47 50 52 54 55 55 55 56 56 56 57 57 58 59 59 60 62 63 71 List of Images, Tables and Figures Images Image 1: Guinness advertising campaign (Photo Credit: Guinness) Image 2: Bord Bia, Irish food drink industry fact and figures Image 3: John Lewis & Partners Christmas ad 2018 9 13 List of Tables Table 1: Definitions of Brand Image Table 2: Description and focus of measurement of commonly used Neurophysiological tools Table 3: Interpretivism Philosophy Table 4: Advertisements used in the Focus Groups Table 5: Budget 14 20 28 40 40 List of Figures Figure 1: Brand Identity Framework Figure 2: Keller’s Brand Equity Model Figure 3: Double Vortex Brand Equity Model Figure 4: Brand Image Factors Figure 5: Brand Personality Framework Figure 6: The Research Onion Figure 7: Research Methods Choice Figure 8: Types of Secondary Data Figure 9: Learning Styles 15 16 16 17 18 26 32 36 61 Introduction 1.1 Background of the research The Irish food and drink industry is constantly growing (Daly J, 2016) As a growing industry, Irish food and drink brands have invested a lot of energy in understanding consumer perceptions and the most effective ways to reach to them Brand-storytelling is the new trend in the world of advertising; it is based on the evidence that advertisements based on storytelling connect better than those executed using straight-sell techniques The way brands connect with consumers have evolved over time It is every brands’ main objective to connect and influence the consumers behavior towards a favorable result; in most cases that would be a consumer making a purchase Advertisers are constantly trying to understand and predict consumers behavior in an attempt to influence it Brand Storytelling have received a lot of academic attention over the past few years, however none specifically regarding Irish food and drink industry brands This dissertation explores consumers perception towards brand storytelling as used in the Irish food and drink industry advertisements Stories are universal, and all the cultures have experience them, they are an essential part of ‘human cognitive development’ which means its been part of our interaction since a very long time (Scott, M D, 2016.p.59; also see Haven, 2014) Although the topic has gained popularity in regard to branding only in recent times, many neuro-scientists have proved the positive effects of storytelling on the human mind, ‘anyone who pronounces with certainty one concrete reason for storytelling faces obloquy’ (Yorke J, 2013 p.210) John Yorke in his book ‘Into the woods: how stories work and why we tell them’ forms a connection between storytelling and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs by stating that stories give us a sense of connection which comes within our basic human needs (Yorke, J 2013 p.131) A story-consultant; Kendall Haven mentions that ‘our brains are hardwired to think, to understand, to make sense and to remember in specific story terms and elements’ he goes on to say that stories influence consumers in three steps: Stories grab the audience’s attention Supporting this idea John Yorke says we immediately ask ‘What Happened’ when we are faced with a story setting Stories necessitate the audience to engage Critical to understanding of story is how customers tell themselves the stories that define them (Scott, M D, 2016.p.60) Lastly stories connect with the audience by forming an emotional connection This explains why brand-storytelling works so well to connect and influence the customers For the Irish food and drink industry, brand story-telling is not a new phenomenon, yet there hasn’t been much research done on Irish food and drink industry brands and the use of storytelling Lindstorm, M (2008) tell us one out of the many ways the brand Guinness used story-telling to its advantage: ‘First the bar tender pours the glass three-quarters, then we wait and wait, and then he tops it off The fact is neither of us mind waiting The fact is that the ritual of slow pour is part of the pleasure of drinking a Guinness in the first place, but the ritual didn’t come about by accident During the 1990’s Guinness was facing big losses across pubs in British isles because customers didn’t want to wait ten minutes for the head of their beer to settle so they introduced the advertisement campaign; Good things come to those who wait’, ‘it takes 119.53 seconds to pour the perfect pint’ and even aired commercials showing the right way to pour a Guinness, this gave birth to the ritual’ (See image) Image 1: Guinness advertising campaign based on the recommended settling time of 119.53 seconds (Photo Credit: Guinness) Image 2: Bord Bia, www.irishfoodanddrink.com 10 1.2 Irish Food and Drink Industry Food and drink producers in Ireland are global leaders from 2006 to 2015, total household consumption have increased by 5.8% (IBEC, Budget 2019 Submission) According to Ibec’s 2019 budget submission; Food and Drink Industry Ireland is a growing sector with over 150 companies ‘A very strong food and drink performance in 2017 saw exports increase by 11% to €12.26bn’ Furthermore, to support that claim, the stats presented by Bord Bia Irish Food board show that 2017 was the 8th consecutive year that marked an increase in exports in the sector These figures show the importance of food and drink Industry in Ireland (See Image-2) 1.3 Context for the researcher Storytelling is the best way to give meaning to brands (Simmons, J 2006) “Researchers have proved that sharing our thoughts and experiences triggers the part of our brain linked with rewards, providing that same level of dopamine that humans experience from sex, food and exercise” (Mancuso J & Stuth K, 2014) Today is the age of technology, we are constantly in-touch with each other through the web and communication is fast In this fast-paced, tech-savvy world; humans crave authenticity, storytelling enables companies to connect with consumers making companies sound authentic and human (Scott, M D, 2016, p.6) Scott, M D (2016, p.40) further elaborates the reasons why stories work so well to connect with consumers: People look for authenticity They want participation over propaganda An organizational story cannot be well presented by ad agencies Individuals at the top of the company are the master storytellers Consumers want information in a language that they understand 1.4 Research question and Objectives This research expands on brand-storytelling in marketing framework from previous literature and applies it to the context of Irish food and drink industry Previous research has proved the positive effects of storytelling on consumer perception, it can be proposed that storytelling used by the Irish food and drink industry may influence consumers perception positively The central premise is that brand storytelling would be more effective than traditional straight-sell execution style advertisements that sell on product attribute information in an argumentative style (Woodside et al, 2008) The following paper presents hypothesis on the effects of storytelling used by brands in 87 because they can’t sell of differentiation of product features, they have array of different products They can’t start with product features for all the brands because they have so many products, rather they focus on the brand and focus to connect with consumers So I don’t think product features are important, I think even an emotional connect will help a consumer pick the product Participant & 2: No, we disagree They are important Participant 2: I used to work with an Oil company in India and they used to sell on their product features vitamins, so they used to highlight that because that’s how they would promote healthy life Because that’s what you buy end of the day Participant 3: No but I’m talking about products that already have a place in the market and have a standing They don’t need to show their product features Participant and disagree We feel like we don’t know what to in that ad Participant 2: In restaurants if you go, they always mention the ingredients so eventually things sell on product features They are being open about it Participant 3: But those ingredients are written on the packaging, not in the advertisements Mod: We must remember that in today’s session there are no wrong answers Everyone has a different perception We all have different experiences Mod: Thank you guys for being here today, for sharing your thoughts and insights Have a great day Appendix C: Focus Group – Date: 20th November 2018 Time: 12 pm – 1:00 pm Location: St Gabriel Parish Centre, Dollymount, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Ireland Participant Number Participant Name Age Profession Nationality Deirdre Maureen Michael Murphy Eddie Cwolan Patrick Costello 68 Retired 77 90 79 Retired Irish Irish Irish Irish Irish 87 Retired 88 Mod: Good afternoon and welcome to the focus group My name is Unaiza Shabbir and I am an M.Sc marketing Student here in Dublin Business School I am pleased that you could join us today for this focus group I have invited you to join the discussion on brand storytelling It’s about how brands focus on stories rather than product-features in their advertisements today We are going to be talking about Irish food and drink industry brands that use storytelling in their advertisements During this focus group I will be showing you advertisement and would like to know your opinion about the advertisement We will be discussing things that you enjoyed about the ad as well as things that you think could have been improved or executed differently This research is being done for my dissertation titled ‘brand storytelling in advertising as used by the Irish food and drink industry’ Researchers have invested a lot of time and energy trying to understand the science of consumer decision making process My study aims to explore why and how stories work so well to connect with the consumer, and how it influences consumers brand perception, loyalty and attitudes Before we begin the study, I will be asking you to sign the consent forms in front of you I will be recording this session today, I have a mobile phone placed in the middle of the table recording this session And we are recording this, so we don’t miss any of the comments Often times people say things so well we are not able to write them down quickly enough, so the recording will help I have some refreshments here for you so please help yourself Remember that there are no wrong answers today, so feel free to express your thoughts and ideas We all have different experiences and thoughts so feel free to comment even if your ideas are different from what others have to say My job is to guide the conversation, and to keep us on time and be sure we are finished within time today Let’s go around the table, find out who you are, what’s your name and name a few of your favourite brands to begin with Participant 3: Porridge and Potatoes are two basics in my food Now I’m thinking what the brand of those would be The potatoes would be called the roosters, its from up in county Meath by one of these fellows Go on paddy you’re more knowledgeable than me about these things Participant 1: Flahavans is the porridge I use! that’s the one Participant 4: What else, I have a piece of salmon every morning, smoked salmon a fella down in Wexford or something like that I’m forgetting who does it Wexford or something I like brown bread, Nolans bread Participant 3: Their own bread is it paddy? 88 89 Participant 4: Yes, Guinness I like, I really like, Jameson Whiskey so that’s it, can’t keep tablets Mod: Would anyone else like to share Participant 2: Maureen here, So for breakfast I would have almonds and maybe an egg sometimes I just might have a jam sandwich but it’d be jam, for lunch it could be the Irish salmon or the Irish meat, could be beef mostly lamb, Irish lamb and has to be vegetarian between it can be anything from scrambled egg or tuna About the drink now, a little bit of Jameson would go down nicely but you never think about it Participant 1: I’m Deirdre And looks like an easy way to go with it, to go through the day Flahavans for porridge and fresh orange juice, Boyne valley honey, milk is just slimline milk the Irish one And lunch would be ones and I’d have boiled egg maybe Tomato, beetroot and all that from the supermarket, not sure if they’re all Irish, the tomatoes aren’t only in the summer we get a lot of Irish vegetables For dinner I would get Donegal catch and again vegetables, and Green Isle very handy packs of little quick chill veg that you can in the microwave for single use, they’re very handy What else, it’d be Barrys tea, I try not to eat Cadburys chocolate Chocolate and jello and biscuits and sweets and cakes and all of that And I don’t really drink but I’d have a glass of wine once a week, we don’t have Irish wine so that’s it But I know what you mean about advertising because some ads specially Christmas ones coming up now, Ikea ones now and there’s a whole story being told and you’re wondering ‘who’s this ad from?’ and then it says only at the end, I notice they were the thing to first that, I noticed a few more, Marks & Spencer Christmas one on and there seems to be a little story and at the very end they tell you who the company is Mod: Yes, that answers my next question which is what brand storytelling means to you? Participant 3: I’ll have to look at the ad Participant 5: Would you look at that (points at water bottle on the table), it says great British Stale Spring Water loads of it I just wonder what is Participant 2: I have to tell you, I actually don’t look at the ads, because when the ads come on I would go to a book or something else or that But the only thing is, if I hear I like to horses at Christmas time that I will look at and maybe one with a child but after that I actually don’t look at advertisements For me it’s a waste because when the ads come on, ‘pick up the paper, and read the paper, oh the crossword or oh something else’ that’s the way I go I don’t waste time, when advertisements are on, I make a cup of tea or something Participant 3: Similar to Maureen, funny ads I might look at I’m thinking of a funny ad now What funny ads are on? Participant 5: Can’t think of it, 89 90 Participant 4: One is by Guinness its about gathering sticks in a forest he’s dirty and a woman comes up dressing up in beautiful clothes, shoes polished beautifully head to toe to the local pub, night club actually But it’s a good ad, that I like Mostly I wouldn’t remember who they are for you know like that one I had to watch it four or five times to remember that it is by Guinness So there are a few other ones Participant 5: What stands out to me is there is a pub and she comes in to, remember it was this ad Sally, the sally ad Sally O’Brian! I think it was Guinness, some drink Participant 1: I always like the ones with nice music and classical music I always look up those ads Music will be great influence for me Participant 4: On the other hand, there are some ads that I dislike, if they came on, I would switch over to another channel I don’t want to have to suffer this Participant 3: I like those ones which, they don’t have to with food, but you know the lads on their mobiles and the crash one Participant 5: Ya and I think it’s terrible I was going off in my car in Thomas street and I said I have to get to two buses I saw these people walking down the street, two people together they are not talking to each other, they are on their phones, and the worst part there was a kid between a year or so, sitting in a little go kart and he had a mobile Participant 2: We never talked about the Burgers in the advertisements, you know those burger chains what you call them, chicken nugget ones Participant 5: MacDonald’s junk! Mod: We are going to be watching the advertisements now After watching the advertisement, please fill in the form in front of you and once everyone is finished, we will discuss what you think of the adverts Guinness advert ‘Behind every great horse’ plays Participant 1: Was this advert from last year? Mod: Came out in July 2016 Participant 1: Ya I was thinking it wasn’t this year Mod: So, what are your thoughts on this advert? Anyone can go first Participant 1: Well I said that it’s a very good ad, you know it’s about the Galway races and so it’s a lovely story Background was very nice, and I like the music it was very relaxing, but I don’t think I would purchase Guinness 90 91 Participant 4: Yes, I just enjoyed looking at the pictures It’s an interesting little bit of information, horse racing information and locality it tells you about the race and certainly there is a lot more than on the fence I’m not so sure though it it’ll make me buy six pack of Guinness Participant 5: I’ve always drank Guinness, but the story nah, no… I’m not in to horse racing so I don’t know Participant 2: Maureen here, I saw the advertisement before and no I wouldn’t be buying Guinness unless I have visitors So on the advertisement, horses when I see the horses it was the racing season in Cheltenham and it’s the south of racing season to me and when I see the planting and the digging, I tend to think of food 22:29 to the people and the horses And I think I experienced excitement when I saw the horses running and being rubbed down, that’s it Participant 3: I am Michael Murphy, I like the ad I am likely to purchase Guinness, I’m fond of Guinness, I like Guinness I like the story used to create this ad, the ad illustrates professionalism required to rear a good horse and similarly I presume they are saying that the same professionalism is used to make a pint of Guinness Participant 5: Very Good Mod: Thank you, lets watch the next ad now ‘DairyGold, what would you in an extra minute’ advert plays Participant 4: That was DairyGold was it? Participant 1: Well, that’s the question You could have missed it Participant 4: Ya, ya it was an interesting discussion in the ad but at the end of the day I did not know it was Dairy Gold Participant 1: That’s what I said, can’t see the connection Ok, I didn’t see that advertisement before I purchase the brand because I need DairyGold for making sandwiches My thoughts on the story, I couldn’t see the connection in the ad and DairyGold The dialogue was too long, and I couldn’t read anything that was written in the background and that’s what I kept struggling to read but it didn’t stay long enough The music and voices were annoying because they kept changing and were all over the play It sounded like a result of a survey, wasn’t relaxing anyway Participant 2: Maureen here, I have seen the advertisement before and yes, I purchase DairyGold all the time What I think of the story; confused! What’s the feeling; thought it was all about a mobile phone where does the butter figure in it I thought I was listening but here I am no idea Participant 1: It ended up being what would you with an extra minute in your life, don’t think I can read DairyGold 91 92 Participant 3: I’ll go on next, I am Michael I haven’t seen this ad before, I am very likely to buy DairyGold though My thoughts on the story; some of the ways people would use an extra minute are quite interesting Young father walking his kid to school, and the young fella wanting to practice his scales on the violin I’m curious about how people would use a minute But as everyone else said there was no trace of DairyGold Participant 5: I haven’t seen the advertisement before, I am likely to purchase the brand at least twice a month It makes you think about life, know what I mean Just that’s the thoughts I got Participant 4: It did stimulate me, not so much taking a slice of bread and putting DairyGold on it I was thinking about an extra minute what I would with it, and actually I don’t have the answer The last minute it is difficult to think Mod: Were you guys thinking of what you would in an extra minute while watching the ad? Participant 1: Yes! I think the first time if you watch it, you’d be thinking but if you saw this several times it’d drive you mad Certainty wasn’t relaxing Participant 2: No, Not really I don’t even listen to ads, I put them on silent Participant 5: In the back of my head yes, sort of Participant 3: The only thing was that if they bring in fresh faces every time, they play this ad, I think you’d get tired of the same people saying the same things Mod: Lets watch the next ad now It’s the last one ‘Jamesons ad- Scully was to blame’ plays Participant 4: What was the ad about? Participant 1: Are we not sure now? Participant 4: I know it was about whiskey, was it Jameson? Participant 1: It actually was Jameson Mod: So what you think about this ad? Participant 1: I think I’ve seen it before, but I wouldn’t recall seeing it recently My father always drank Irish Whiskey and it was always Jameson Don’t drink myself but I’d buy it I’d have it for visitors around Christmas time Thoughts on the ad, I felt it was slightly sad story and maybe little bit old fashioned Now I wasn’t quite sure what happened there, did he open it by mistake and lost all the whiskey there was something bad and looks like something good happened in the end colleagues liked him I liked the background music so that’s me Participant 2: Maureen here, I have a feeling I have seen it in the back of my mind And yes, I would buy, my drink is Jameson anyways Now the advertisement I found very drab and to me 92 93 there was no life and no colour, there’s no colour in it But I know it was going back in the 1800’s but in today’s world I have to have colour, that’s me And the advertisement if we look at the feelings, it was just glasses and a bottle so for me there was no feeling That’s the way I found it Participant 4: It told a rather sad story, and he got blamed he took a chance to come into the pub and he was accepted by everyone after being started at, and then the three glass of Jameson were shown as a celebration and they lived happily ever after Participant 5: Mine is short, now I’ve never seen the ad before I couldn’t link it really, I don’t think much of the story That’s it Participant 3: I’ve seen the ad before I’m quite likely to purchase the brand on all occasions I think it’s a good story to illustrate the product the old world shown reminds me of life in the distillery gone by and I was entertained by the story Participant 5: Teelings won’t be very happy! Mod: Why you think they brought this incident back to todays world? Participant 3: Smithfield is very old-world bit, you know its dialled up now but it is still cobble stones and all that kind of stuff and that’s where the brewery is Participant 5: about a hundred distillate Participant 2: I think it’s a lot of the advertisements, they are now going back to the old styles I think maybe the world of today is rushing forward Participant 1: don’t know when it was made, maybe they showed a 100 year ago, I think it’s a lot of things today are trying to remind people of history Participant 4: I think they are targeting the elder drinkers Mod: That is the end of this focus group Thank you very much for your input and your time I really appreciate you being here today Have a lovely day Appendix D: Focus Group – Date: 22nd November 2018 Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Location: Dublin Business School – Castle House 2.4 93 94 Participant Number Name Age Nationality Nayara Barbosa Nabila Barka Enda Murphy Joseph Roche Mary Finch Julia Katzgram Jana 26 Brazilian 26 29 24 26 26 23 Moroccan Irish Irish Irish German German Mod: Good Evening and welcome to the focus group My name is Unaiza Shabbir and I am an M.Sc marketing Student here in Dublin Business School I am pleased that you could join us today for this focus group I have invited you to join the discussion on brand storytelling Today we are going to be talking about Irish food and drink industry brands that use storytelling in their advertisements During this focus group I will be showing you advertisement and would like to know your opinion about the advertisement We will be discussing things that you enjoyed about the ad as well as things that you think could have been improved or executed differently This research is being done for my dissertation titled ‘brand storytelling in advertising as used by the Irish food and drink industry’ Researchers have invested a lot of time and energy trying to understand the science of consumer decision making process My study aims to explore why and how stories work so well to connect with the consumer, and how it influences consumers brand perception, loyalty and attitudes Before we begin the study, I will be asking you to sign the consent forms in front of you I will be recording this session today, I have a mobile phone placed in the middle of the table recording this session And we are recording this, so we don’t miss any of the comments Often times people say things so well we are not able to write them down quickly enough, so the recording will help There are a couple of ground rules that might help us, if you have a cell phone, I’d appreciate if you turned it off or turn it on silent mode If you need to respond to it, please step out but come back as soon as possible I have some snacks here for you so please help yourself Remember that there are no wrong answers today, so feel free to express your thoughts and ideas We all have different experiences and thoughts so feel free to comment even if your ideas are different from what others have to say My job is to guide the conversation, and to keep us on 94 95 time and be sure we are finished within time today Let’s go around the table, find out who you are, what’s your name and name a few of your favourite brands to begin with Participant 5: Hiya, my name is Mary One of my favourite brands is Irish but its not really well known because it’s a vegan brand; its buttercream dreams, she makes cakes and she only started up last year So ya Participant 7: I don’t have many favorite brands here because I don’t know many Irish brands yet, but one of the brands that I use here and that I like is KerryGold We have KerryGold in Germany as well My name is Jana and I’m here for a semester abroad, from Germany Recently I discovered a chocolate from Galaxy, I don’t know if its Irish or not And other food brands I haven’t really put a lot of thought into it Participant 3: My name is Enda, I am originally from Wexford but living in Dublin My favorite brands would be Guinness and KerryGold butter Participant 2: My name is Nabila, from Morocco I’ve been here since January What you mean by Irish brand actually, does it have to be food and drink industry? Mod: We are talking about the Irish food and drink Industry today, but you can name any brands that you really like regardless Participant 2: Well I am most interested in the fashion industry and I discovered an Irish brand that does shoes, they are called Fitzpatricks and I’m really interested in them Participant 4: My name is Joseph, I am from Wexford living in Dublin like Enda They’re just Irish people doing nice food and they’re not in for the money and their products are really good Participant 1: My name is Nayara, I’m from Brazil I don’t think I have any favorite Irish brands from the Food and Drinks Industry Participant 6: I’m Julia, I’m also from Germany and ya I can’t think of any brand I really like Raffaello I don’t like the brand so much to be honest Mod: Thank you for that What does the term brand storytelling mean to you? Participant 6: Coca-Cola comes to my mind, the Coca-Cola truck, and especially when I see the Christmas lights outside, thinking that they are quite good in storytelling Participant 2: Its pretty much when a brand involves the product in a whole life experience, so they’re not just selling the product but the whole experience and they let the consumer decide if the product fits their lifestyle That’s what I think Participant 4: Ya its certainly a lifestyle, you’re buying into a lifestyle, you’re buying something that you aspire to be or you are, weather food or health or outdoors or you eat 95 96 something from Happy Pears because you want to buy into it, you want to be seen as part of the gang Participant 7: For me storytelling is more like that I can recognize a brand, when they have a new spot on the tv I will be able to tell that it’s a certain brand because they would execute it in a similar way to before It’s a unified image that they present Participant 1: Coca-Cola reminded me of other brands that storytelling well, like Budweiser and Heineken They have interesting posters around at this time so that came to my mind Participant 4: You know like you see a Heineken or Budweiser ads where people are drinking those in a gathering, they’re saying that drink Budweiser and basically be ‘cool’ Participant 2: Netflix would be another example, like on social media you see their adverts and ‘Netflix and chill’ advertisements Like they link the brand with chilling like you can’t chill with the tv or the movies it has to be Netflix Participant 1: And every brand wants to that, wants to integrate a human side, wants to make you feel the experience, so I think every brand wants to that today Mod: Would you guys say you are brand loyal to any brands? Participant 5: Yea, definitely to Irish brands like I’d forgotten until Joseph said like if there’s an option between a brand, I’d automatically go for the Irish brands Mod: So for you it has to be Irish, not so much the brand Participant 5: Yeah Participant 3: Nah I wouldn’t, depends what shop I’m in, like you know if you go to Lidl or Aldi sometimes you don’t have the option of buying an Irish brand Participant 7: I think something I just buy things out of habit, like the same milk I get from Lidl and I get the same brand out of habit, but I wouldn’t know what brand it is I’d take the same milk from the same shelf, but it has nothing to with the brand In another case, I love buying Jeans from Levis Mod: Do you have any favorite advertisements and what bits of the story you remember about the advert? Participant 5: Kellogg’s Christmas Ad! The ‘ho ho ho’ one, you know its been around since the 90’s and they still use it Its about these three kids wanting to see Santa and they wait for him Participant 4: and its like you just know it’s Christmas just by looking at the ad, like the Cocacola ads you know, it just never changes 96 97 Participant 3: Budweiser has a similar one with horses running through the snow, that’s been since the 90’s as well Mod: Why you think storytelling works so well to connect with consumers? Participant 5: All of the adverts that we’ve talked about since the 90’s they’ve always wanted used stories Participant 2: I think its about the emotions, you’re not just buying something because its best in the market, but it might remind you of some nostalgic Christmas that you had before Participant 7: I think stories are maybe more relatable for people and they see themselves in a situation where they would use the product Participant 4: Guinness had a Wheelchair on a rugby ad That one has nothing to with the product at all Participant 5: Oh, ya that was a cool ad Participant 7: We watched the Dove Real Beauty ad in class I think that’s a good one, it has nothing to with the product but the campaign ‘real beauty’ Mod: What emotions stories evoke in you? Participant 5: I think it depends on the brand, like with Dove challenging beauty ideas, its going to work for emotions but its not going to work for food, might work for clothes Participant 4: Relatability you know, like if you can relate to it, you’d really be into it Like I would never drink coke but if the ad was about someone walking down the stairs over and opening the fridge and having a coke then I might relate to it and buy it Mod: I am going to the advertisements for you guys now, if you could fill out the form after you watch the advertisement and then we will discuss what you’ve written Guinness advert ‘Behind every great horse’ plays Mod: Would anyone like to share their thoughts regarding the advertisement? Participant 3: I’d say that Guinness associates itself with Irish sports, traditionally Like it associated itself with rugby recently, hurling and the Irish sport You were talking about wheelchair rugby as well So this is horse racing another big Irish sport so started linking itself to the Irish identity It doesn’t show anyone drinking it, just shows the formation of the Guinness at the very end Because it links itself to the sports by sponsorships as well so you might have seen the Galway races they would sponsor a race at the Galway races every year Participant 4: For me it supports local and ordinary, and like me I’m local and ordinary and I’d buy in to that sport ad its possible to dislike the team its relatable as in it is local here in Ireland 97 98 but show this ad in England or like France and people would be like ‘oh’ it wouldn’t be very universal Participant 5: Not necessarily cause people like the idea of ‘country’ regardless of where you are, people like the idea of green, so that’s what it showed It showed green fields, you could realistically show somewhere else and say come on over for a holiday in Ireland or on a holiday somewhere green You just need to dock the end bit Participant 4: Yeah but I think if it was the English version of it, I wouldn’t buy into it as much as I would Participant 5: No but we have it on our backdoor and that’s the thing Whereas England…you wouldn’t buy into, also I think its your patriotism a little, they’re buying into your patriotism because Guinness is an Ireland product Participant 4: Yes as an Irish person, you couldn’t not buy into that ad, you just couldn’t Unless you’re really against horseracing Participant 5: Me! Participant 3: Horseracing in Ireland is just an ordinary sport but in a lot of other countries it wouldn’t be ordinary its more upper-class sport in other countries Participant 4: Like if you looked at the Peroni Ad its very exclusive, like its all about the higher class and upper-class beer ad and a lot of people they wouldn’t relate to it as much as that ad you know Participant 6: And I think its made for Irish audience, like I can’t relate to that ad at all, I’m not in to horse races and I don’t like Guinness but still I like beer so it could be appealing to me but I can’t relate to it Participant 7: It’s the same I wouldn’t know, and it didn’t make sense to me like why they chose horse racing for this advertising unless now I know they are sponsoring the event, but I wouldn’t be able to tell Participant 1: I think most Irish advertisements like they go back to the roots, the countryside and local product but it wouldn’t work in my country for example because people don’t give much value to the local products so everything that is from abroad is considered to be better therefore, I think it wouldn’t work in Brazil I think it’s a big cultural difference Participant 2: For me I think its like they are trying to take Guinness away from the industrial side I have noticed that craft beers are very popular and liked here by people, so they are trying to link this to originality and something noble that they have It takes people to their childhood memories, it reminds me of my grandfather horse riding, but I don’t see it now, I don’t see my siblings horse riding, it kind of takes you back to something in the past in your childhood And 98 99 they didn’t GAA but horse riding because they are also linking themselves to the horse as a noble animal, horse is a noble animal and Guinness wants to be associated with that Mod: Great Let’s move on to the next advert ‘DairyGold, what would you in an extra minute’ advert plays Mod: While the ad was playing did you think what you would in an extra minute? Participant 2: Not really, I was listening to be honest but it makes me think of the last wish, in the execution when they ask for you last wish or something but I still don’t know what the ad is selling But it does make you think about priorities, it makes you think about family Participant 1: Yes I think it makes it about family because a lot of people mentioned their family, sister etc so it make me emotional but then I thought this ad is too long so I thought it’s too cliché like we spend too much time on screens and nothings changing that but I think if it was shorter it would be better It got boring Participant 6: and I don’t know but I’m sure I’ve seen a similar execution by another brand I can’t remember what brand though Participant 7: Yes, I know what you mean, but I can’t remember too Participant 3: I think the question is a bit ridiculous the more I think about it and the answers were all the same no one has a funny, any different answer Participant 5: But isn’t that how we would all want to spend our time, with our families anyway? Participant 3: If you’re forced to! Participant 5: Maybe that’s just me Participant 4: Maybe I’m soft but I thought it was very top of it grounded me and gave emotional appreciation and reflection, but it was bit long and it was relatable though like you had people telling different stories especially with holidays season The girl being abroad and saying she haven’t seen her sister and so It was very original Participant 5: I did find it quite thought provoking, because its true we all spend more time on our phones and like now a days, in cinemas kids can’t be quite for minutes to watch a movie because we don’t know how to We spend so much time on our phones we don’t know how to spend it with people anymore Participant 7: I thought about if someone was to rewind the clock by one minute, I’d still be in the bus looking at my phone for one minute Of course, everyone would say I’d hug my sister or something but ya that’s… just nobody would really that 99 100 Participant 6: I was just thinking throughout for what brand could this ad be, and I was just very surprised that it was for a butter Participant 5: But that’s the thing about Irish brands, like Joseph said earlier, that Irish brands tend to go back to the roots and DairyGold and KerryGold and all those butters were originally family brands, so they’d go back to families Participant 7: I think this ad would only make sense if you know the brand before If you’re completely new to the brand and want to buy a dairy product you probably wouldn’t Participant 2: I don’t see the point of the ad, like its not connected to the product or the brand Participant 5: For me that ad would grab my attention more so than others Mod: Lets move on to the last advert ‘Jamesons ad- Scully was to blame’ plays Mod: Thoughts on the ad, anyone can begin Participant 7: I didn’t get it I noticed that it was supposed to be funny, like he lost a lot of whiskey, but I don’t know why we lost it and I don’t know what happened in the pub afterwards Participant 5: I find it very relatable, it’s probably because I’m such a Klutz Like you said you didn’t understand what would happen in the pub; you’ve never I’m guessing spilt or broken something so precious and have to walk into a pub full of people affected by it so what was expected to happen in the end was that the pub would come on him cause he lost all their whiskey so I felt fair in the end going Oh dear, and then I was like ‘oh al right, yay’ Participant 2: I didn’t really understand either but in the beginning, it said based on a true story, so Jameson is involved in people’s life So when people tell the story they will mention Jameson Participant 1: I didn’t get the story either but I like the brands that make their advertisements based on the 50’s so that’s my only connection but I’m not a consumer of the brand and I associate it with old people Participant 3: Ya the message they were trying to get across was that it is triple distilled as compared to Scottish whiskey which is distilled two times and the guy didn’t realize the third time so that was his mistake They’re saying our whiskey is better that way from the others, but it brings back the history of the product, the way to address Irish people are proud of our history, so anything relates to the past is a good selling point in the Irish market I guess Participant 4: I thought it was comedic and everyone laughs in the end so it was good fun It was a good small story and its good to reinforce the history as well mention that it was triple distilled Mod: Did you notice any similarities in the ads? 100 101 Participant 5: The idea of Guinness and Jameson were very similar, that we’re Irish and we support people in the ground Participant 4: Heritage! Participant 3: Yes the other one was very universal, you can play it in any country Participant 2: They are all using people’s perception of the product to advertise it, which is brilliant, I think Mod: That concludes our focus group today Thank you very much for joining and have a great evening 101 ... awareness, brand attitude, and brand uniqueness These individual brand components are defined as brand identities’ and all of them together make up the brand (Keller, L.K, 1993) The importance of. .. done on Irish food and drink industry brands and the use of storytelling Lindstorm, M (2008) tell us one out of the many ways the brand Guinness used story-telling to its advantage: ‘First the bar... Irish food and drink industry brands This dissertation explores consumers perception towards brand storytelling as used in the Irish food and drink industry advertisements Stories are universal, and